The Influence of Ship Rats (Rattus Rattus) on the Habitat Preferences of the House Mouse (Mus Musculus)

10.26686/wgtn.16959115 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

◽

Benjamin Hancock

Keyword(s):

House Mouse ◽

Mus Musculus ◽

Habitat Preferences ◽

Rattus Rattus ◽

Canopy Cover ◽

Ground Cover ◽

Foraging Activity ◽

Cascading Effects ◽

Control Programs ◽

Indirect Cues

<p>As methods and successes of Rattus rattus (ship rat) control progress, particularly in island environments, the importance of managing Mus musculus (house mouse) increases. M. musculus can negatively impact on a variety of native fauna and flora, potentially creating long term cascading effects. M. musculus populations benefit with the reduction in R. rattus abundance and recover sooner from pest control programs. This three-part study investigated the habitat utilisation of M. musculus and how their relationship with R. rattus influences their habitat preferences. Firstly, hypotheses about the habitat preferences of M. musculus were tested over a landscape scale to determine the features of the environment most important to their distribution. Then the direct effect of R. rattus presence on M. musculus habitat-use was investigated in arena trials. Lastly, in the same arenas, canopy cover was tested as an indirect cue for M. musculus to evaluate the presence of R. rattus. Across 32 sites, M. musculus were the most abundant in warm dry habitats. North facing slopes and rank grass cover were the features of the environment that had the strongest relationship with abundance. In arenas M. musculus foraging activity was 52% lower in patches of short grass when R. rattus scent was present but foraging in rank grass and bare ground was not altered, suggesting activity was suppressed not competitive displacement. There were no significant changes in M. musculus foraging behaviour between different canopy treatments. Although a trend of nocturnal foraging activity dropping 26% when high canopy cover was over short grass compared to short grass patches with lower or no canopy treatments may indicate a risky habitat. M. musculus use of dense ground cover was common theme in this study and in the literature. R. rattus do influence the habitat selection of M. musculus though this was with direct presence more than indirect cues.</p>

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Diet of an Eastern Grass Owl Tyto longimembris in northern New South Wales

10.20938/afo38044048 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 38 ◽

pp. 44-48

Author(s):

Stephen Kearney ◽

Keyword(s):

House Mouse ◽

Mus Musculus ◽

National Park ◽

New South ◽

New South Wales ◽

Rattus Rattus ◽

Black Rat ◽

South Wales

A single Eastern Grass Owl Tyto longimembris was observed in Bundjalung National Park, New South Wales, in September 2019. Pellets (n = 17) collected from its roost contained the remains of House Mouse Mus musculus, Grassland Melomys Melomys burtoni, Black Rat Rattus rattus, Swamp Rat R. lutreolus, Fawn-footed Melomys Melomys cervinipes, Common Planigale Planigale maculata, Eastern Blossom Bat Syconycteris australis and honeyeater Phylidonyris sp. The most interesting findings were the Eastern Blossom Bat (the first published record of a bat in the diet of an Eastern Grass Owl in Australia) and that one of the Grassland Melomys specimens had pink bones.

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The Diet of the Introduced Rodents Mus-Musculus L and Rattus-Rattus L on Sub-Antarctic Macquarie Island

Wildlife Research ◽

10.1071/wr9860441 ◽

1986 ◽

Vol 13 (3) ◽

pp. 441 ◽

Cited By ~ 39

Author(s):

GR Copson

Keyword(s):

House Mouse ◽

Mus Musculus ◽

Seasonal Variations ◽

Plant Material ◽

Rattus Rattus ◽

Stomach Contents ◽

Macquarie Island ◽

Ship Rat

The diets of Mus musculus and Rattus rattus on Macquarie I . were investigated by analysis of stomach contents collected monthly for 12 months. The diet of the house mouse was found to be mainly invertebrate matter but that of the ship rat was mainly plant material. Seasonal variations were found in both diets but were greater in that of the ship rat than that of the house mouse.

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Primary and secondary resource pulses in an alpine ecosystem: snow tussock grass (Chionochloa spp.) flowering and house mouse (Mus musculus) populations in New Zealand

Wildlife Research ◽

10.1071/wr09118 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 37 (2) ◽

pp. 89 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Deborah J. Wilson ◽

William G. Lee

Keyword(s):

New Zealand ◽

Predation Risk ◽

House Mouse ◽

Mus Musculus ◽

Native Species ◽

Montane Forest ◽

Primary Objective ◽

Mouse Population ◽

Cascading Effects ◽

Resource Pulses

Context. Rodent populations in many parts of the world fluctuate in response to resource pulses generated by periodic high seed production (masting) by forest trees, with cascading effects on predation risk to other forest species. In New Zealand forests, populations of exotic house mice (Mus musculus) irrupt after periodic heavy beech (Nothofagus spp.) seedfall. However, in alpine grasslands, where snow tussock grasses (Chionochloa spp.) also flower and set seeds periodically, little is known about house mouse population dynamics. Aims. Our primary objective was to test for an increase in alpine mouse density following a summer when snow tussocks flowered profusely. We also estimated mouse density in adjacent montane forest over 2 years, and assessed mouse diet, to predict their potential impacts on native species. Methods. Flowering intensity of Chionochloa was assessed by counting flowering tillers on permanent transects (2003–06). Mouse density was estimated with capture–mark–recapture trapping in alpine (2003–07) and forest (2003–04) habitats. Mice were also collected and their stomach contents analysed. Flowering or fruiting of alpine shrubs and herbs, and beech seedfall at forest sites, were also measured. Key results. Chionochloa flowered profusely in austral summer 2005/06. Between autumn (May) and spring (November) 2006, mean alpine mouse density increased from 4 ha–1 to 39 ha–1, then declined to 8 ha–1 by autumn (May 2007). No mice were captured in 768 trap-nights during the following spring (November 2007). Prior to the mouse irruption, mouse density was consistently higher at alpine (0.4–4.0 mice ha–1) than at montane forest (0.02–1.8 mice ha–1) sites (in 2003–04). Alpine mouse diet was dominated by arthropods before mast flowering, and by seeds during it. Conclusions. The density and dynamics of alpine mice in relation to intensive snow-tussock flowering were similar to those in New Zealand beech forest in relation to beech masts. Implications. We predict the timing and duration of periods of heightened predation risk to native alpine fauna, as the result of pulses in mouse density and likely associated pulses in the density of stoats (Mustela erminea), a key exotic predator.

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Early Cold Exposure: Effects on Behavioral and Physiological Thermoregulation in the House Mouse, Mus musculus

Physiological Zoology ◽

10.1086/physzool.49.2.30152539 ◽

1976 ◽

Vol 49 (2) ◽

pp. 191-199 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

G. Robert Lynch ◽

Carol Becker Lynch ◽

Marjory Dube ◽

Cynthia Allen

Keyword(s):

House Mouse ◽

Cold Exposure ◽

Mus Musculus

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Distribution and habitat preference of protected reindeer lichen species (Cladonia arbuscula, C. mitis and C. rangiferina) in the Balaton Uplands (Hungary)

The Lichenologist ◽

10.1017/s0024282921000165 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 53 (3) ◽

pp. 271-282

Author(s):

Mónika Sinigla ◽

Erzsébet Szurdoki ◽

László Lőkös ◽

Dénes Bartha ◽

István Galambos ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Vascular Plants ◽

Management Practices ◽

Soil Depth ◽

Habitat Preferences ◽

Habitat Type ◽

Canopy Cover ◽

Lichen Species ◽

Oak Forests ◽

Natural Habitats ◽

Cladonia Rangiferina

AbstractThe maintenance of protected lichen species and their biodiversity in general depends on good management practices based on their distribution and habitat preferences. To date, 10 of the 17 protected lichen species of Hungary have been recorded in the Bakony Mts including the Balaton Uplands region. Habitat preferences of three protected Cladonia species (C. arbuscula, C. mitis and C. rangiferina) growing on underlying rocks of red sandstone, basalt, Pannonian sandstone and gravel were investigated by detailed sampling. We recorded aspect, underlying rock type, soil depth, pH and CaCO3 content, habitat type (as defined by the General National Habitat Classification System Á-NÉR), all species of lichen, bryophyte and vascular plants as well as percentage cover of exposed rock, total bryophytes, lichens, vascular plants and canopy, degree of disturbance and animal impacts. Sporadic populations of these species mostly exist at the top of hills and mountains in open acidofrequent oak forests, but they may occur in other habitats, such as closed acidofrequent oak forests, slope steppes on stony soils, siliceous open rocky grasslands, open sand steppes, wet and mesic pioneer scrub and dry Calluna heaths. Cladonia rangiferina was found to grow beneath higher canopy cover than either C. arbuscula or C. mitis in the Balaton Uplands. Furthermore, there were significant differences in canopy cover between occupied and unoccupied quadrats in the case of all three species. Cladonia rangiferina is a good indicator species of natural habitats in Hungary due to its restricted distribution and low ecological tolerance. These results may lead to the adoption of effective conservation methods (e.g. game exclusion, artificial dispersal) in the future.

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Insights into mammalian biology from the wild house mouse Mus musculus

eLife ◽

10.7554/elife.05959 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 4 ◽

Cited By ~ 45

Author(s):

Megan Phifer-Rixey ◽

Michael W Nachman

Keyword(s):

House Mouse ◽

Mus Musculus ◽

Genetic Model ◽

Inbred Strains ◽

Mendelian Inheritance ◽

Model Organisms ◽

House Mice ◽

Small Subset ◽

Wild Mice ◽

Wide Range

The house mouse, Mus musculus, was established in the early 1900s as one of the first genetic model organisms owing to its short generation time, comparatively large litters, ease of husbandry, and visible phenotypic variants. For these reasons and because they are mammals, house mice are well suited to serve as models for human phenotypes and disease. House mice in the wild consist of at least three distinct subspecies and harbor extensive genetic and phenotypic variation both within and between these subspecies. Wild mice have been used to study a wide range of biological processes, including immunity, cancer, male sterility, adaptive evolution, and non-Mendelian inheritance. Despite the extensive variation that exists among wild mice, classical laboratory strains are derived from a limited set of founders and thus contain only a small subset of this variation. Continued efforts to study wild house mice and to create new inbred strains from wild populations have the potential to strengthen house mice as a model system.

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Effects of logging and fire on small mammals in Mumbulla State Forest, near Bega, New South Wales

Wildlife Research ◽

10.1071/wr9870163 ◽

1987 ◽

Vol 14 (2) ◽

pp. 163 ◽

Cited By ~ 33

Author(s):

D. Lunney ◽

B. Cullis ◽

P. Eby

Keyword(s):

Small Mammals ◽

New South ◽

New South Wales ◽

Canopy Cover ◽

Ground Cover ◽

First Year ◽

Severe Effect ◽

South Wales ◽

Antechinus Stuartii ◽

Rattus Fuscipes

This study of the effects of logging on small mammals in Mumbulla State Forest on the south coast of New South Wales included the effects of a fire in November 1980 and a drought throughout the study period from June 1980 to June 1983. Rattus fuscipes was sensitive to change: logging had a significant impact on its numbers, response to ground cover, and recapture rate; fire had a more severe effect, and drought retarded the post-fire recovery of the population. The three species of dasyurid marsupials differed markedly in their response to ground cover, canopy cover, logging and fire. Antechinus stuartii was distributed evenly through all habitats and was not affected by logging, but fire had an immediate and adverse effect which was sustained by the intense drought. A. swainsonii markedly preferred the regenerating forest, and was not seen again after the fire, the failure of the population being attributed to its dependence on dense ground cover. Sminthopsis leucopus was found in low numbers, appeared to prefer forest with sparse ground cover, and showed no immediate response to logging or fire; its disappearance by the third year post-fire suggests that regenerating forest is inimical to the survival of this species. Mus musculus showed no response to logging. In the first year following the fire its numbers were still very low, but in the next year there was a short-lived plague which coincided with the only respite in the 3-year drought and, importantly, occurred in the intensely burnt parts of the forest. The options for managing this forest for the conservation of small mammals include minimising fire, retaining unlogged forest, extending the time over which alternate coupes are logged and minimising disturbance from heavy machinery.

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